


Second Summer

by vguardie917



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M, Original Universe, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:15:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21652867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vguardie917/pseuds/vguardie917
Summary: It's three years after Dipper and Mabel Pines spent a summer they would never forget in Gravity Falls, Oregon. The twins are headed back for another summer with their Grunkles, but now that they and their friends are older, relationships will change, friendships will be strained, and Gravity Falls might have more mysteries to be revealed.
Relationships: Pacifica Northwest/Dipper Pines
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	1. Back to Gravity Falls

It had been nearly a year since Dipper and Mabel Pines had visited their Grunkles Stan and Ford out in the woods of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Sure, their Grunkles came to visit every couple months during whatever adventures the two were setting out on—usually fishing and fighting monsters—but Dipper and Mabel had gotten so caught up with school in their junior year that they couldn’t even spend spring break in the place they loved so much with the people they terribly missed.

Ever since the twins had spent a summer in Gravity Falls just a couple years prior, it had become their favorite place in the world. Their parents were wonderful, sure, and their hometown held some friends and fun activities, but there was just something about Gravity Falls that always called them back.

So, naturally, when they were given the opportunity after a long year of studying, college prepping, and surviving high school, Dipper and Mabel packed up their shared sedan, grabbed some snacks for the road, bid their parents adieu, and set off for a summer in Gravity Falls.

It was Dipper’s turn to drive. Since Mabel was better at handling high-stress traffic than the perpetually nervous Dipper, the twins had an unspoken understanding that Dipper took the long stretches of highway driving during road trips while Mabel handled city segments. Dipper was lost in thought about nothing in particular, the radio playing softly, when Mabel pulled him out of his head.

“So, have you talked to anyone since we visited last?” Mabel asked as she lounged in the passenger seat. She had been working on knitting a new sweater but decided to set it down for a while. All that knitting had gotten her thinking, too.

“I mean, we talk to Stan and Ford all the time,” Dipper replied. He shrugged. “Wendy texts me here and there, but she texts you, too, since we usually talk in the group chat. Have you?”

“Not really,” Mabel replied sheepishly. “You know I’m terrible at keeping in touch. I don’t think I’ve talked to Grenda and Candy since, like, Christmas. I hope they won’t be mad at me.” Mabel gazed out the window, longing for her friends.

“Grenda and Candy are your best friends, Mabel, they won’t be mad,” Dipper comforted his sister. “Life gets busy sometimes, but now you’ll get to spend time with them in person.”

Mabel flashed a smile at her brother, always glad he was there to pick her back up.

“Yeah, I’m excited to see them.” Mabel’s phone buzzed from its spot in the car cup holders and she grabbed it, checking the notification.

“Hey Dip?” Mabel started. “Did you tell anyone about spending the summer in Gravity Falls?” Dipper flashed her a confused glance before returning his eyes to the highway.

“What do you mean?” He questioned. “I told Stan and Ford, obviously, and we mentioned it to Wendy, but I think that’s it. Why?” Dipper spared a glance to look over at a confused Mabel scrolling through something on her phone.

“Well, I just got a message from Pacifica.” At the mention of her name, a thousand unique thoughts and memories popped into Dipper’s head, accompanied by a similarly vast array of emotions. Dipper never had a chance to sort out his feelings for Pacifica, which started developing that summer of their 12th year. In the last three years, Dipper had rarely seen the surprisingly charming girl for more than five minutes at a time, and so he had finally talked himself out of ever thinking the two could be anything but that-one-summer kind of friends. He’d be lying if he said that made him stop thinking about her altogether, though.

Dipper was embarrassed by the pitter-patter his chest made when Mabel said her name, but his twin didn’t seem to notice so he tried to play it off.

“Oh yeah?” He asked casually, as if responding to a remark about the weather. “What about?” He snuck a look at Mabel to see if she was suspicious, but she was still focused on her phone, confused as ever.

“She said she saw my post about vacationing in Gravity Falls and wanted to know when I’d be here.” Dipper’s gut wrenched just a bit at Mabel’s words. So, Pacifica just wanted to hang out with Mabel, of course.

“Oh, nice,” Dipper responded, doing his best to hide the disappointment that surprised even himself.

“That’s not all, dude,” Mabel continued. “She asked if you’re coming, too.”


	2. Welcome Wagon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mabel and Dipper are welcomed back to the Mystery Shack by their favorite grunkles. They catch up and plans are made for a night out with friends, but Mabel isn't telling Dipper everything.

By the time Dipper and Mabel pulled their car into the dirt driveway of the Mystery Shack, Dipper had convinced himself a million ways to Sunday that Pacifica was not actually interested in knowing his whereabouts for the summer. A thousand other reasons seemed more plausible to him. Maybe Pacifica just wanted to know so she could avoid Dipper. Maybe it was a joke. Hell, maybe it was her cat messing with her phone.

Mabel could only refute his denials for so long before she had given up and started listening to a podcast, giving Dipper plenty of time to write his own narrative in his head. This at least meant that, when they arrived at the Mystery Shack, Dipper could fully appreciate the effort his Grunkles had put into welcoming their favorite twins.

The two were waiting on the porch when the twins arrived, Stan sipping a beer and Ford enjoying some strong coffee. They had run over to greet the twins with hugs before Dipper even had the car in park.

After bringing in luggage and doing some quick catching up in the living room, Stan escorted them to their old room in the attic. The Grunkles had hung a “Welcome Home!” sign on the back wall of the room and had made it up just like it had been a few summers before. It really did make Dipper and Mabel feel at home.

While the younger Pines twins did some unpacking, Stan took a seat on Dipper’s bed, savoring the fact that his great niece and nephew were going to spend a whole summer with him, that they chose to spend it with him.

“I’m so glad you kids are back,” Stan remarked. “This place can get a little boring without you two messing with everything.” Stan laughed at his own joke when a sweater came flying through the air, wrapping around his face.

“We don’t mess with everything!” She exclaimed as Stan peeled the sweater off his face.

“We only mess with most things,” added Dipper with a grin. The three kept teasing each other, returning to a familiar rhythm, until Ford gave a quick knock on the open door. He was wearing an apron covered in stains that said, “Kiss the chemist,” in green embroidered letters across the chest.

“You kids must be starving,” he said. “C’mon, I’ve got dinner just about ready downstairs.”

Half an hour later, the four were just finishing up their roasted ham and veggies dinner- Ford’s ability in the kitchen could exceed any tv chef- when Mabel got a call. 

“Oh! It’s Candy!” She exclaimed, her smile impossibly wide. “I’ll be right back!” She bounded out of the room as she answered the call, leaving the Grunkles to catch up on school and life with Dipper. Before long, Mabel returned with a question.

“Hey, Grunkles? I know we just got here, but would it be okay if Dipper and I went mini golfing tonight with some friends?” Dipper looked at Mabel with confusion: he was surprised to be included in a night with Grenda and Candy. Stan shrugged.

“Sure thing, honey,” he said.

“You’re sure?” Mabel asked again. “I don’t want to mess up any plans we had.” Stan looked to Ford.

“You got any plans?” He asked. Ford laughed.

“Just watching terrible reality tv with my lovely brother,” he responded, punching Stan’s arm.

“America’s Next Repo Man is not terrible!” Stan argued back, looking genuinely hurt. Ford seemed concerned for a moment but then the two started laughing.

“It really is bad,” Stan admitted through laughing. “You two should go out and see your friends, don’t go turning into a hermit like your Grunkle Ford.”

The four shared a laugh before Mabel and Dipper retreated to their room to get ready. Mabel had recently started wearing makeup, but she only liked the kind of makeup that really stood out. She couldn’t care less for the “natural” looks that some girls were religious about wearing in high school- she just couldn’t justify the amount of effort needed to look almost exactly like her normal self. So, she brushed on some electric blue eyeshadow, soft pink lipstick, and a dazzling new sweater.

Dipper, on the other hand, had grown out of his same-color t-shirt phase a year ago. For outings with friends, he always turned to a nice buttoned flannel and jeans, which he matched to his signature blue pine tree hat. He had traded it with Wendy after his first summer in Gravity Falls, but every time they had reunited since, they had exchanged them back and forth. Until Wendy returned from her college classes in a few weeks, the blue pine tree was his.

With a hug goodnight to the grunkles and a curfew set, the twins were off.

Mabel drove as Dipper stared out the passenger side window, taking in the town that had changed his life just a couple years prior. He couldn’t be nostalgic for long, though, because Mabel’s incessant radio station scanning pulled him out of his mind.

“You know, as much as I love this place, their music is terrible,” Mabel remarked, scanning too quick to even hear enough of a song to determine if it was as bad as she claimed.

Dipper rolled his eyes. “Maybe if you gave them more than a millisecond per station, they wouldn’t be so bad.” Mabel barely registered what he was saying, her mind divided between the road, the radio, and something else that was distracting her. 

“Mabel,” Dipper said, putting enough force behind the word that she finally stopped scanning. “What is going on with you?” He asked. Mabel looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, worry painted on her face.

“I’m just nervous,” she said accusingly. Dipper was beyond confused by this; Mabel was the extrovert of the two of them and he had never seen her anxious over social things. Dipper understood such fear, though, and felt sympathetic for his twin.

“Oh, Mabel,” Dipper soothed. “It’s okay, I know sometimes seeing people you haven’t been around for a long time can cause some anxiety. It’s nothing to be ashamed…” Dipper wasn’t able to finish his thought before Mabel broke out into one of her extra-wide grins and interrupted him.

“Oh, I can’t keep it a secret anymore!” Mabel squealed, doing a little dance in the driver’s seat. “Pacifica’s coming tonight, too!” She kept talking, but Dipper couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of his rapidly increasing heartbeat.


End file.
